Sarkozy’s nuclear seduction secret is out

Three new books chart the dizzyingly fast courtship and marriage of the president and his singer lover

THERE were seven other people around the dinner table, but Nicolas Sarkozy had eyes for only one. He apologised to his hostess, who was sitting to his right, and for the next two hours spoke exclusively to the beautiful Italian singer on his left.

A former top model, Carla Bruni, 40, warmed to his attentions. After pudding, to the amusement of the other guests, she asked the French leader if he had a car waiting outside. "Yes," Sarkozy replied, adding that he would be happy to escort her home.

Outside her house in the smart 16th arrondissement of Paris, she invited him up for a coffee. "Never on a first date," the 53-year-old president solemnly replied. It was probably the first time she had ever heard that.

France last week was getting its first full account of what may become the best-chronicled romance in modern history. Three books have already